Plans for proposed pipeline given at meeting

About 150 landowners from Morgan, Scott, Pike and Brown counties got more information Thursday night about a proposed oil pipeline that could go across their property.

Representatives of Dakota Access Pipeline, an Energy Transfer Partners company, met the landowners on a one-to-one basis at the American Legion Post 279 home in Jacksonville, answering questions ranging from construction to the project timeline to pipeline safety.

The proposed 1,100-mile pipeline would stretch from North Dakota to Patoka in southern Illinois.

A map displayed at the meeting showed where the pipeline would run from the northwest corner of Brown County, around Mount Sterling, across the extreme northeast corner of Pike County, into Morgan County south of Meredosia, across northern Scott County, through southwestern Morgan County just north of Murrayville, and then into Macoupin County.

“From previous meetings, the majority of landowners have left supportive,” pipeline spokeswoman Lisa Dillinger said. “Some are curious about construction and other are curious about topsoil and drainage tiles. We work with each landowner to ensure that everything is set to their needs.”

George Murphy of South Jacksonville, who owns property three miles west of Woodson, has some concerns about the planned route.

“In talking with the engineers, we noticed a different route on the map tonight at the meeting than what we were verbally told,” Murphy said. “But as the engineer said, it could change again.”

Representatives of Laborers International Union of North America also attended Thursday’s meeting.

“We support pipeline projects and this one specifically because we’re interested in creating jobs,” said Randy Harris, director of the Midwest region of Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust, which covers 10 states and has 58,000 members. “Energy Transfer Partners is committed to utilizing a highly trained and highly safe workforce, utilizing local workers. It is an overall benefit to the communities involved. These projects are lifelines for construction families.”

The project is expected to create about 2,000 construction jobs in Illinois and generate an estimated $8 million in sales tax revenue during its construction across 177 miles of the state.

The pipeline is expected to transport 450,000 barrels of crude oil a day. The company wants to have the pipeline built and working by the end of 2016.

In early September, it was reported that land survey requests were being received by landowners in parts of Morgan, Scott and Pike counties. The Pike and Scott County Farm Bureaus are encouraging landowners to consult with an attorney before signing survey requests or easements. The Farm Bureau also plans to hold its own informational meeting once the harvest season is done.

Once a final route is established for the project, the pipeline would typically require 150-foot-wide rights-of-way during construction and a permanent 50-foot easement when complete.

According to Energy Transfer Partners, the construction of the pipeline would allow for growing production in the Bakken oil fields and do so “in a cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner by reducing the current utilization of rail and truck transportation as the predominant alternative to moving Bakken crude oil volumes to major U.S. markets.”

So far, the predominant opposition to the project has come from Iowa, where residents and environmental justice groups such as Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement have mounted major protests against the pipeline, lobbying state officials to prevent its construction.

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Greg Olson can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1224, or on Twitter @JCNews_Greg.